The Federal Government has said Ogoniland in Rivers State might be the turning point for Nigeria going forward.

The government expressed optimism that a new chapter was unfolding in Ogoni, stressing that Nigeria “will no longer be what it used to be,” with the transformation about to begin in Ogoni.

The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, stated this when he led a Presidential delegation comprising the Ministers of Works, David Umahi and Environment, Balarabe Lawal and officials of NNPCL on a courtesy visit to the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, in Government House in Port Harcourt on Monday.

Recall that the federal government is currently discussing with leaders and stakeholders of Ogoni for the possible resumption of oil exploration in the area.

Subsequently, Governor Fubara led a delegation of Ogoni stakeholders who met with President Bola Tinubu during the first meeting to chart the way forward for peace talks with the apex government.

President Tinubu had asked the Ogoni leaders to return home to their people, get their buy-in, and return to him.

As a follow-up, the Ogoni dialogue committee, led by former Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Don Baridam, and co-chaired by respected priest, Ignatius Kattey, which was constituted, had concluded consultations with various groups and people across Ogoni and submitted their reports to the President.

Continuing, Ribadu recalls that the oil in Ogoni has remained untapped for over thirty years due to the crisis that led to the shutdown of exploration activities, but thanked the leaders and stakeholders of Ogoni for opening the door for talks with the government and commended Governor Fubara for creating the right environment.

He stated, “We are here as a delegation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Of course, we have the general officers in charge of the armed forces: senior officers, a couple of federal government officers who are here in Rivers State.

“Collectively, Your Excellency, we are here on a mission. Thank you for the cooperation. Thank you for working together as one to address some of the challenges and difficulties all of us inherited.

“We have worked as one. Particularly, we are here because of the Ogoni part of Nigeria. And we did an incredibly good job together as one. We are here to demonstrate that, to identify with the people and once again to thank them on behalf of Nigeria.

“We are happy today. Rivers State is probably one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria. Your Excellency, you’re entitled to claim that you’re responsible, that you’re part of it. And the good people of Ogoni leaders are quality human beings.”

He continued, “We’ve had this amazing opportunity to work with them, and I can tell you they are good people, they’re first class. And we have seen progress, development, and massive promise for Nigeria and our future. Ogoni is looking like the turning point for Nigeria today.

He said with the President’s intervention, residents can now drive with ease along both ends of the East–West Road, connecting Bonny and Bayelsa.

Gov. Fubara emphasized that beyond physical infrastructure, the President’s administration is rebuilding confidence in the region.

He reaffirmed his commitment to supporting the peace process and managing emerging conflicts, noting that development cannot thrive in an atmosphere of crisis.

The governor stated, “I want to say first, thank you to Mr President. You see, thanking Mr President is the first thing that everyone who truly loves the state should do. I heard the details of the National Security Adviser’s speech for over three decades.

” A decade is ten years, so imagine for more than 30 years one particular road has always been a recurrent destination where people will plan to say, let’s look for a way to imagine these people to right the wrongs, but at the end of the day, nothing happens.

“So I want to thank the President for having the boldness, determination and doggedness to say even if the process is not going to be easy, which we all know is not easy, but let us start from somewhere, and we are beginning to see the result. What are their results?

“We had the first meeting with Mr President, some commitments were made. Commitments like the East-West Road which I”m one of the benediciaeies of that road. You can’t go to my place without traversing that road.

“Today, at least a section of that road is motorable. You can close your eyesand drive along one land, ” he added.